- AI may be impressive, but it's not yet revolutionary, says MongoDB's CEO.
- Developer Itticheria said there is a need to further integrate AI with practical applications.
- To get the most out of AI-powered solutions, responses must incorporate real-time data, he added.
At least one executive believes AI still has a long way to go before it significantly changes the way we work and communicate.
“AI hasn't changed my life,” MongoDB CEO Dev Ittycheria said in an interview with TechCrunch. “Yes, the assistant may have helped me write better emails, but it hasn't fundamentally changed my life. The Internet, on the other hand, has completely changed my life.”
Ittycheria isn't denying the potential of AI to eventually revolutionize the workplace, but the value of new technology will occur “first at the bottom,” he told the tech publication.
Ittycheria said AI's “true value” will be realized when existing platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT are fully integrated into more practical, everyday applications. He added that MongoDB's “business” is to help people develop applications, and applications built on AI models. The database software company has its own AI-powered projects, including its Atlas suite of data services.
In order for AI services to be transformative for the general public, AI services need to incorporate “real-time data,” Itticheria said.
“Maybe something is going on in the stock market. It might be time to buy or sell, or maybe it's time to hedge,” he told TechCrunch. “I think that's where we'll start to see more sophisticated apps that can embed real-time data along with all the inference.”
The AI boom has set the technology world on fire, with companies large and small finding new ways to leverage AI. New tools are already starting to change areas such as management culture.
Bill Gates compared AI to shocking technological advances such as the invention of the PC and the Internet.
But Itticheria is not alone in suggesting that AI's transformative impact is still to come. Mark Zuckerberg, who is doubling down on Meta's AI efforts, recently warned cautious investors that it could take “several years” for the efforts to bear fruit.
